PRESENTATION The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

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The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

Mikel Paladella 2ºC

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INDEX

Introduction

Causes

Development of the battle

Consequences

Curious facts

Biography

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Introduction

With the Christian defeat in the Battle of Alarcos, Alfonso VIII of Castile wanted to join forces with the rest of the Christian kings to overthrow, once and for all, the Almohads. Therefore, in what would later be the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, Christians and Muslims faced each other, to finish the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula in what would be a pitched battle for life or death.

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Causes

-The main cause of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa was to finish the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. - The defeat at the Battle of Alarcos in 1195. -Another cause was the greed of not having the Muslims in the peninsula or even gaining territory.

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Development of the battle

In the middle of the 12th century, the kings of Castile and Leon dominated the Tagus valley and had outposts along the Guadiana. The Almoravid empire had been weakened by the creation of various Taifa kingdoms. The Castilians, with Alfonso VII, took advantage of the circumstances and made incursions through Al-Andalus, eventually conquering the city of Almeria.

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A new dynasty, the Almohads, ruled in Marrakech, more fanatical than the Almoravids, and their caliphs conquered Al-Andalus, reunifying it again. To do this, they also faced the Christians in the battle of Alarcos, recovering positions up to the Guadiana River, a few days from the reconquered Castilian capital of Toledo.

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Not having the strength to counterattack, and having disputes with the kingdoms of Navarra and Leon, Alfonso VIII decided to use the archbishop of Toledo, who was called Jiménez de Rada, to negotiate with Pope Innocent III, the declaration of a crusade against the Almohads. Under these circumstances, any Christian monarch who broke a truce with another would be excommunicated from the church. Rodrigo was touring Christian Europe raising funds and recruiting adventurers for the crusade.

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The Almohad court was aware of this situation, and, in turn, gathered a large army in Al-Andalus with recruits from various ethnic groups and coming from different parts of the Muslim world, so confident were they of victory that they planned to reach Rome. Christians concentrated in Toledo, some seeking glory and fortune and others for religious beliefs. On June 20, 1212, an army of 100,000 men left Toledo and recovered fortresses (Malagón and Calatrava). Also, Sancho VII of Navarra appeared with an army and passed through Alarcon, and arrived at the slab gorge, where the Muslims had all the steps occupied to crush the Christians. A shepherd appeared and pointed out a path neglected by the Muslims.

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On July 16, 1212, the bloody battle began. The Christians had organized themselves into three bodies: In the center the monarch of Castile, on the left that of Aragon and on the right that of Navarra. In the vanguard Diego López de Haro led the Knights Templar, the Hospitallers and the Calatravos. In the rear there was an experienced body of cavalry, which would only enter battle to help the weaker Frank or to crush the opposing army if necessary.

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The charge of Lopez de Haro's vanguard reached so far into the troops of the Arab armies that the battle began in the heart of their troops and seeing the outcome, the three Christian armies decided to begin the charge. In that charge, the troops of the king of Navarra broke the chains protecting the caliph's tent. Al-Nasir (the caliph) escaped before the weakness of his army. The Christians pursued the fugitives so that they did not regroup. The three Christian kings remained in the area for a while, taking Úbeda by siege, and the castles of Vilches, Ferral, Baños de la Encina, Tolosa and Baeza.

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Consequences

-Gate of the Guadalquivir valley was open for the first time in 5 centuries-Castile became the central power of Spain. -The Almohad empire ended up succumbing to other Berbers, the Benimerines. -Thousands of Muslim and Christian soldiers died. -All the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula gained territory except the kingdom of Navarre.

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Curious facts

-Some Christians said that the shepherd who had shown them an unprotected path was Saint Isidro Labrador who had come down from heaven to help them. -The chains that Sancho VII broke are today found on the coat of arms of Navarra. -But not even Don Rodrigo could convince the Navarrese king Sancho VII to respond to Innocent's call, and he had to request the help of his colleague Arnaldo Amalarico (archbishop of Narbonne and leader of the ultramontanes).

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Biography

- La batalla de las Navas de Tolosa y sus consecuencias.(https://www.alfonsosolis.net/post/la-batalla-de-las-navas-de-tolosa-y-sus-consecuencias). - Curiosidades sobre la batalla de las Navas de Tolosa (https://profeaventuras.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/curiosidades-sobre-la-batalla-de-las-navas-de-tolosa/) - La batalla de las Navas de Tolosa - YouTube (https://www.google.es/search?q=v%C3%ADdeo+de+la+Batalla+de+las+Navas+de+Tolosa&sca_esv=19b6bafa466e0cb5&source=hp&ei=dWLgZaShNcyJ9u8Pz5yWyAM&iflsig=ANes7DEAAAAAZeBwhUU9ZBZfoXpY0YEGW8uehkJ3xaIL&oq=&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IgBIAFAAWABwAHgAkAEAmAEAoAEAqgEAuAESyAEA-AEGmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcA&gs_ivs=1&sclient=gws-wiz&safe=active&ssui=on#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:77a9e2c5,vid:qVZJxQzEcMc,st:0) - 1212. La batalla de Las Navas de Tolosa (https://www.despertaferro-ediciones.com/2020/1212-la-batalla-de-las-navas-de-tolosa-reconquista/)

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